| The biggest misconception on the path of meditation is that ‘surrender’ means giving up. We share this confronting message with many students on retreat… most are initially petrified by the idea of it, but by the end of the retreat… love it. A few years ago, it rocked our boat… This fine Monday we offer you a nuanced view of surrender as a yogic practice (not just as a spiritual ‘buzzword.’) For me, surrender used to conjure images of a defeated soldier waving a white flag. As a former soldier, I can tell you there is hardly much honour in that… But the surrender we speak of in a meditation and yoga practice has a Sanskrit name – ‘samarpan.’ When I began to probe the meaning, I found out that A LOT was lost in translation. Sanskrit is a beautiful language as the phonemes (sub-sounds of a word) each carry their own meaning, sometimes dozens of them. Words can be super loaded weath meaning and are the perfect language for encoding hidden teachings. So what is hidden in Samarpan? ‘Sama’ means peace, tranquillity, sameness or equal. ‘Sa’ is also Shakti, or the feminine principle; energy, life. ‘Ma’ can mean a multitude of things; here I take it to refer to manas, or mind. ‘Arpana’ means an offering, giving something up as a gesture of respect. ‘Samarpan’ can thus mean an offering of one’s mind to the energy of life that results in peace and tranquillity. You can see how much is lost in the English translation. Samarpan doesn’t equal ‘Surrender.’ Not fully at least. Put another (more visceral) way, Samarpan it is the moment the foot leaves one step, guided by the goal of climbing a mountain, to be raised higher so that you can find another step… ….over and over again, step after step, all the way until you reach the summit. Think for a moment; the step is secure, it is comfortable. It makes no sense to let go of it. But unless you surrender that step… you become stagnant and will never reach the summit. This is Samarpan. Do you know what the summit represents for you? Is it happiness, health, inner -peace? You can see that Samarpan doesn’t mean rolling over and timidly forcing yourself to accept a situation and that’s it… this is a complete misreading of the situation. On the path of Samarpan you will learn to accept things as they are, so that you can hear and see where the next step is. And then it will give you the courage to take it. Are you finding yourself stuck on any of life’s ‘steps?’ Samarpan is an essential part of climbing both physically, and psychologically. It can involve letting go of previously held beliefs (often restricting ones), so that you courageously step into the next moment from a place of peace and equanimity. Surrender is letting go of comfort and answering the higher call (says the butterfly as it exists the chrysalis.) Samarpan is the pointy end of a yoga practice. Newsflash, incase you didn’t know, yoga is not only about cultivating a healthy body! For us, Samarpan is living life… as a Soul. It is the single most powerful practice for cultivating lasting peace. You see, at the end of the day it doesn’t matter which side of the mountain you climbed to get to the top… the final step is letting go of the path you used. Buddhist, Catholic, Christian, Hindu, Yoga or Atheist…. These are paths… and where there is path, there is walking and where there is walking… one must let go! It cannot be otherwise. Many are in love with surrender as an idea, few will show up and actually live it. Here at the Ashram, we are concerned with helping you ground that reality through practice. Enter Samarpan Dhyan. This is an ancient, yogic meditation of deliberately giving up of one’s mind and energy to the Soul. It is a powerful, transformative practice as it releases the most deeply held mental and emotional tension and helps you feel (not just intellectually understand) what surrender is all about. What we can say about that practice is cheap… compared to the living experience of it. On the Soul Retreat we set you up with a practice of Samarpan and teach you the finer points to making it a daily habit. It will become your key to unlocking your most peaceful, happy and prosperous self. We have one twin share room with two beds remaining for the 19th to 23rd July Soul Retreat (perfect for a couple / friends.) This retreat will be the last offering at the current price of $1995pp for the 5 days, 4 nights of all inclusive program, food and accommodation as our packages will be getting a revamp in the coming months. If you want to learn more about the retreat, please check out your invite here. If you are ready to lock in dates or want to ask questions for this (or any other upcoming retreat dates) you can organise a time for a call. We pray that you use this knowledge of Surrender/Samarpan to step into the most beautiful week ahead. |
What is Surrender?
TABLE OF CONTENTS
David Wegman
Dad. Husband. Thinker. Dreamer. Meditator. Yogin. Veteran. Co-Founder of Kailash Ashram
